Mozambique: US$2.6 million from border visas so far this year

The number of foreigners who visited Mozambique in the first three quarters of the year represents an increase of 55% over the same period of last year.´Photo: O País

More than 53,000 foreigners entered Mozambique on border visas in the first nine months of the year. The National Migration Service (SENAMI) says that most of these foreign citizens were tourists.

More visitors means more money for the state, as every foreigner who requests a border visa pays 3,000 meticais (US$50) to the National Migration Service. In this case there were 53,318 foreigners arriving from January to September, pouring the equivalent of 156.3 million meticais (US$2.6 million) into the state coffers.

The number of foreigners who visited Mozambique in the first three quarters of the year represents an increase of 55% over the same period of last year.

The figure meets the objectives of the Mozambican government in reinstating the border visa last year. In fact, according to Cira Fernandes, a spokesperson for SENAMI, “the majority of foreign citizens presented the practice of tourism as the main motivation for entry and application for border visas”.

The border visa allows foreigners to enter the country twice, each time for a maximum thirty day stay, and was intended to increase the number of tourists visiting Mozambique.

However…

The amount the state collects from the entry of more than 53,000 foreigners could be over 156.3 million meticais – but for the fact that 381 foreigners could not clearly explain why they wanted to visit Mozambique, and had their visa applications refused.

Refusal was not the only measure taken against them, Fernandes said. “SENAMI, in addition to having refused to grant the visa and consequently refusing these citizens entry into the country, also re-embarked them on the air carriers that brought them, so that they could return to their country of origin,” he explained.